FiT Publishing

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of fan engagement on merchandise purchase intentions. We draw on existing fan engagement literature and focus on non-transactional fan engagement and its effects on merchandise purchasing as a single transactional fan engagement dimension. Data were collected from 206 season ticket holders (Study 1) and 520 fans of professional sports teams (Study 2) and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings show non-transactional fan engagement dimensions explain 51% (Study 1) and 60% (Study 2) of merchandise purchase intentions and...Read more

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Hockey League (NHL) are studied to ascertain the determinants of betting volume on an individual game-to-game basis. Actual betting volume was obtained and aggregated across three on-line sportsbooks for the 2008-09 season. Independent variables such as the quality of teams, television coverage by network, day of the week, time of day, month of the season, etc. are included in a regression model to determine the factors that influence betting volume. The results reveal betting behavior is much like fan behavior as key fan-attributes,...Read more

Fantasy sport now involves over 41 million Americans (Fantasy Sport Trade Association, 2014). Past research has identified reasons why adults are motivated to participate; yet little research has focused upon why younger participants—a key demographic for the growth of the industry—are participating. Utilizing 1,360 online questionnaires pertaining to player’s demographics, habits, consumption, and motivations, comparisons were made between the 12-19 year-old demographic and other older age groups. Teen motivations for participation varied considerably from other age demographics, as this...Read more

Guided by the Attitude-Behavior Relationship framework, Drayer, Shapiro, Dwyer, Morse, and White (2010) qualitatively developed and proposed a conceptual model to explain the relationship between fantasy football and National Football League (NFL) consumption. Within this framework, it was proposed that in-season game outcomes related to one’s favorite NFL team and fantasy football team impact a participant’s attitudes and trigger additional NFL consumption. Utilizing a pre-post research design, the purpose of the current study was to assess a fantasy participant’s attitudinal and...Read more

This study examined what motives and constraints influence Sport Twitter Consumption (STC) in regard to following athletes. Furthermore, the study attempted to cultivate a reliable and valid model through which researchers and practitioners can measure Twitter consumption-related motivations and constraints. The proposed combined model consisted of 12 items with four measures of motivation (i.e., information, entertainment, pass time, and fanship) and 12 items with four measures of constraints (i.e., accessibility, economic, skills, social). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method with a...Read more

Fantasy sport consumer behavior research is a burgeoning area of inquiry as this growing segment of sport fans exhibits unconventional, yet robust media consumption habits. In addition, consumer motivation and market segmentation represent core principles within the study of marketing, yet the integration of these two essential concepts with regard to sport consumers is limited. The purpose of this study was to explore fantasy baseball motives, develop a motive-based taxonomy of users, and quantify the differences between segments through an examination of mediated sport consumption. An...Read more

Sponsorship activity has increased dramatically over the last two decades, as has customer knowledge of this promotional activity associated with experiential consumption. While a number of studies have measured consumers’ understanding of how event marketing affects their evaluation of a brand, scant empirical attention has been paid to how consumers use sponsorships as signals of event quality. In a between-subjects experimental design, main effects were found for the sponsor’s functional similarity and regression analyses suggest that the strength of the sponsors’ influence predicted...Read more

Knowing similarities and differences between sport participants and spectators can be advantageous for sport marketers as it may allow sport organizations to increase their consumer base beyond their traditional consumers. Therefore, the present study is aimed at examining similarities and differences of consumer motivation for both playing and watching sports. Using a sample of soccer consumers who both play and watch soccer (N = 237), the study found that for the most part, motivations for playing and watching soccer were different. However, affiliation was found to predict commitment to...Read more

Despite the strong appeal of personalization (through creating personalized players, teams, and leagues) in sport video games (SVGs), little is known about its marketing implications. This study explores the effect of personalization on SVG gaming enjoyment, repurchase intention, and consumption level. Further, the predictive functions of perceived skill and past experience on participants’ intention to personalize their SVG experience were examined. Current users (N = 459) of a sport video game, “FIFA 06 Live”, participated in the study and the results revealed that users who utilize...Read more

The purpose of this exploratory research was to gain a greater understanding of the importance consumers assign to the product attributes of one of the most visible relationship marketing programs: affinity credit cards. Drawing on relationship marketing, symbolic consumption, and social identity, the authors explore the importance of attributes when choosing an affinity credit card. Three studies at different universities determined the ranked importance to student consumers of the background logo, the beneficiary, attributes such as annual fees and interest rates, and the financial...Read more